Valmark Advisers Inc. Sells 329 Shares of Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP)

Valmark Advisers Inc. lessened its stake in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,524 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 329 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $2,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UNP. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,261,449 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,478,649,000 after acquiring an additional 19,145 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,803,796 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,385,457,000 after acquiring an additional 285,988 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 62.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,496,708 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,119,295,000 after acquiring an additional 2,119,382 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,003,423 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,018,847,000 after acquiring an additional 792,896 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Union Pacific by 108.9% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,128,575 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $840,702,000 after acquiring an additional 2,151,893 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $937,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $252.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Union Pacific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $282.00 to $272.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $248.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Union Pacific from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.78.

Union Pacific Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE UNP traded down $0.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $242.79. 2,255,458 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,120,671. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $244.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $190.45 and a 12-month high of $258.66. The firm has a market cap of $148.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.07.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.97 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.52% and a return on equity of 44.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 11.01 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.62%.

About Union Pacific

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, operates in the railroad business in the United States. The company offers transportation services for grain and grain products, fertilizers, food and refrigerated products, and coal and renewables to grain processors, animal feeders, ethanol producers, renewable biofuel producers, and other agricultural users; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, petroleum, liquid petroleum gases, soda ash, and sand, as well as finished automobiles, automotive parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers.